"It's in the city. Do you want to come?" chirped Winson over the phone. "I'll wait for you here!"After hesitating for a few seconds, Gwen eventually agreed. She did want to see the painting Winson mentioned.Theo never told her he painted her before, but…she and Luna did not know Theo when they were in high school. Maybe Theo did paint her before, but she did not know for sure.She believed Winson could tell it was her because they studied in high school together. Thus, she eventually agreed to go with a stomach full of curiosity. "Okay. Share the location with me. I'll go over now."After refreshing herself, she put on a jacket and went out. When she was downstairs, she saw the man waiting outside of her building again.Same as before, he dressed entirely in black with a cap and mask covering his face.His presence reminded Gwen about what Luna told her last night."Joshua sent him to keep you safe. His face is covered because he doesn't want to scare anyone with his disfigure
The man dressed in black took a step back and used his hand to reach for his other injured arm. He remained silent and merely shook his head in response to Gwen.By then, Gwen could tell the man did not just hurt his back but also his arm too. He had been trying to protect her from slamming on the ground to the extent that there was obviously blood wetting the sleeve of his black sweater.Gwen's heart throbbed when she saw blood on him."You look like you're hurt badly."She bit her lip and wanted to go near him, intending to bring him to the hospital. After just one step, however, she remembered the thing Luna texted her last night.This man did not want anyone to go near him. He was self-abased and ashamed because of his disfigured face. Gwen knew she should not go near him or break the rules he set for her.She paused and frowned. "You…should go to the hospital."The man took another step back and shook his head silently again."Hey, if he doesn't want to go to the hospital,
The man dressed in black frowned upon hearing what Winson said. He looked up at Winson's face with his frosty gaze. "So you're getting close to her because you want her?""Wrong." Winson looked in the direction where Gwen left. He took out his lighter from his pocket to light up the cigarettes and puffed out a ring made out of smoke into the air."Since you and I have the same motive, I'm going to be frank with you: I'm getting close to her to bring her back to Sea City to claim a reward.""Claim a reward?" The man dressed in black stared at Winson. "And what's that?""Don't pretend like you don't know anything." Winson scoffed at that question. "Aren't you after the reward too, seeing as you're trying to win over Gwen? Don't tell me you don't know the gang in Sea City has put a bounty on Gwen to avenge Luke?"The man dressed in black trembled, and his eyebrows furrowed. "A bounty on Gwen just to avenge Luke? Didn't he give Gwen his heart? Isn't it the same as destroying the last
Winson grunted in pain as his body slammed against the ground.At that moment, Gwen was walking out of the pharmacy with some alcohol pads, sanitizer, and bandages, so she saw how Winson was flung to the ground by the man dressed in black.Shocked, she quickly rushed over. "Winson!""Gwen…" Winson used his hand to support his back when Gwen helped him to get up. He said weakly, "Do you even know this guy? He's so fierce…"Gwen bit her lip and looked at the man dressed in black. "I…"She wanted to say she knew him, but she remembered what Luna and Joshua told her.Gritting her teeth, she answered, "I don't know him.""You don't know him…" Winson glanced at the man dressed in black in disdain.Although this man did not have the same motive as him, they were both here because of Gwen. He, however, was much closer to Gwen.The first one to arrive normally had the advantage of being in a favored position. He and Gwen had known each other since they were in high school, and Gwen had
The man dressed in black ignored Winson and looked at Gwen. "Remember what I told you."Odd as it sounded, Gwen felt like she was looking at…Luke.When Luke was still alive, Luke would shoot her an annoyed look when someone interrupted them mid-conversation. The conversation often ended with Luke saying, "Remember what I told you."Every time, she would giggle and nod back at him to show that she remembered what he said, though she always forgot them.Instead of being irked, however, Luke would rub her head softly and sigh. "Sigh! What are you going to do if I'm not around…"It hurt Gwen terribly to recall her memories with Luke. It took more than a while for her to withdraw herself away from the sadness.She lifted her head and looked at the man dressed in black while earnestly replying, the same way she would always do when met with this question by Luke, "I know. I'll remember them."The man dressed in black faltered for a moment briefly, and he nodded. "Alright."After that
On the other end of the line, Joshua stayed silent for a while before saying hesitantly, "You're…Luke now?"The man frowned and said, "Take a guess."It was another moment of silence.After a while, Joshua asked, "Did something bad happen? Why is it you now?""Yep. Something happened." Luke—in Steven's body—looked in the direction where Gwen left and took out a cigarette from his pocket. He lit it up and said with a frown, "There's a man with Gwen."Joshua frowned. "So that's why you came out? Because you're jealous? That's a new way to trigger the change of personality."Luke rolled his eyes. "I'm not finished. That man is from Sea City. I think he, Luna, and Gwen were high school classmates.""The guy is pursuing Gwen?" Joshua leaned back on the office chair with a smile on his face. "I told you. Since Steven allowed you to share the body with him, you should just go find Gwen and tell her everything. You two can continue to be together."You won't have to be the invisible ma
"Sigh." Joshua sighed, hearing Luke's rant, and said wearily, "Do I need to send someone to keep you and Gwen safe? You may not be able to handle your old subordinates, even with Steven.""No thanks." Luke snorted and changed to a more comfortable position, leaning on the same pillar. He continued to look in the direction where Gwen and Winson left. "I know those people too well, and they're nothing when they leave Sea City. Your cousin, Sean, is much better than many of them."Joshua laughed. "Sean did want to learn from you, be like you, and become a gang leader."Luke shrugged and sneered. "Why not learn to be a good guy instead? Why did he want to be like me?""Aren't you a good guy?" Joshua paused. "Sean was actually under a lot of pressure. He had been living in the countryside and became a mechanic sometime in his life, only to find out that he, all this while, has a biological older brother and other relatives, which made him feel slightly unhinged."You're the only one wh
Gwen and Winson made a beeline straight to the art show as soon as they entered the exhibition center.There were indeed plenty of Theo's artworks displayed there, and the first one was the portrait he had painted of Luna."What a talented man," Winson could not help lamenting as he gazed at the painting.'Oh my. I can't believe Theo managed to capture the essence of Luna's beauty so perfectly!' Gwen thought to herself as she stared at the painting.Although this was only a painting of Luna's back as she chased after a kite, wearing a simple white dress, Gwen could not help being reminded of the early memories that she shared with Luna.They had been so happy and carefree at one point…Who would have thought that a few years from that point in time, Luna would have almost died, been forced to undergo plastic surgery, and even gone through such devastating events such as losing her best friend and going to jail for attempted murder?As for Gwen, on the other hand…although she had